Beloved SARP officer Torres dies of cancer

Back in the 1990s, Ruben Torres, then an East Stroudsburg police officer, met with a woman whose home had been burglarized.

ANDREW SCOTT

Back in the 1990s, Ruben Torres, then an East Stroudsburg police officer, met with a woman whose home had been burglarized.

In the days that followed, Torres drove by the woman's home at least once per shift in his patrol car so that the woman and her young children could see him and feel safe.

Stroud Area Regional Police Lt. Jennifer Lyon cited this example of Torres' caring and professionalism as colleagues paid tribute Monday to him hours after he died of the advanced-stage cancer he had been fighting for months.

"I wouldn't say Ruben 'lost' his battle to cancer," Lyon said. "The cancer took his life, but never his spirit. His attitude was amazing to the very end. I believe that was because of all the love and support he received from his family, his friends and the community he served.

"If there's a message Ruben would want us to take from this, it's that you're responsible for your own happiness. You control your own destiny," she said.

Wearing black bands across their badges, others joined Lyon Monday in sharing what Torres meant to them and the department.

"Police officers are trained to project an aura of invulnerability because of the places we have to go and the people we have to confront as part of our job," said SARP Chief William Parrish, tears in his eyes. "Ruben projected that sense of competence and professionalism, but there was also that sense of the human being behind the badge."

Victims and accused alike remembered Torres for the way he treated all with respect, fellow officers said.

Torres began his career as a police officer at the age of 24 in 1989, after serving as a U.S. Navy radio communication specialist and then with the Monroe County Control Center. He spent a total of 25 years with the municipal and then regional police departments.

Torres and his wife, Jo Ann Torres, meanwhile raised 11 children, six of whom are adopted and five of whom have Down syndrome.

Ruben Torres helped start SARP's motorcycle unit, which led police processions and took part in community charity benefits, as well as the department's crash reconstruction unit.

"Ruben was incredibly cerebral and philosophical in his approach to his duties, especially as a crash reconstructionist," said SARP Capt. Brian Kimmins. "His skills were well-appreciated not only in that particular area of expertise, but in general as an ambassador to the police department. There was definitely more than met the eye in how he went about his position. He's left behind some big shoes to fill."

Fellow officers said Torres had been experiencing pain when he took a medical leave of absence in April, shortly after which doctors in New York City found cancer in his kidneys. He then underwent cancer removal surgery at Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia.

After Torres later began experiencing other symptoms, he learned not all of the cancer had been removed and that it had gotten into his lymph nodes and spread to other parts of his body.

The community began holding various fundraisers to help the family with non-insured medical expenses as he tried alternative medical treatments, but hospitals in Mexico and California could do only so much, his wife said.

Lyon brought Ruben and Jo Ann Torres back home from the airport Friday.

Jo Ann Torres said the family at that point was out of options and praying for a miracle.

Ruben Torres died shortly after 9 a.m. Monday in hospice care.

The police department held a "last patrol" for Torres, where his body was escorted in a procession through the community he served before being taken to Clark's Funeral Home.

"The support and gratitude the community has shown is tremendous, not only for Ruben and his family but for the department as a whole in our time of loss," said SARP Officer Kevin Transue. "It shows people out there really care."

Fellow officers said the focus now is on being there for the Torres family while planning to give Ruben Torres "the sendoff he deserves," said Parrish.

There will be viewing hours from 3 to 8 p.m.on Wednesday, July 9, and from 10 to 11 a.m. on Thursday, July 10, at the William H. Clark Funeral Home, 1003 Main Street, Stroudsburg.

The funeral service will begin at 11 a.m. Thursday at the funeral home with Pastor Leap and Harry Lewis officiating.